Paradise Burning
by The Vast Empire
Summary: Aidenn. A jewel of a colony, not too far from Reach. For its millions of residents, however, this planet is about to become hell. Brought to you by the Vast Empire writing group. Review please, and check out the VE site for the original.
1. Chapter 01: Herald

0623 June 21st, 2552 (Military Calendar)  
Frigate Benelux (FFG-124)

Captain Daniel Roosevelt had just risen from his seat when the alarm went off. The crewman manning the COM station quickly silenced it and immediately opened the transmission. Captain Roosevelt massaged his brow as the crewman scrolled through the transmission. At 67, the Captain was nearing the mandatory retirement age for naval personnel, but with a war raging between a dwindling human colony network and a xenocidal alien empire the UNSC needed every man and woman it could get. Quietly, Daniel drew a cloth from his breast pocket and used it to wipe his brow. The crewman frowned, and Roosevelt suddenly grew concerned. The Ensign turned around until he was facing the Captain.

"Sir, we're receiving a transmission from Scanning Station Fujikawa. Seems they're getting some funny readings just outsystem."

The Captain almost sighed in relief, but caught himself in time. It wouldn't do to show weakness in front of subordinates. Still, for one moment, he had been afraid that the Covenant had somehow found the Aidenn system.

He'd been in almost half a dozen skirmishes with the aliens, and he'd seen firsthand what happened to civilians caught in the area. There were millions of civilians on Aidenn, and they would be slaughtered if the Covenant launched a serious assault. Captain Daniel placed both his hands behind his back to conceal a brief tremor, and replied to the waiting COM officer.

"Forward the report to Victor Station, and bring us up to Combat Alert Charlie."

"Yes, sir."

The Ensign typed the message out, and there was quiet on the bridge for almost a minute. Then, the alarm began to blare again. Captain Daniel was beginning to feel very uneasy. A simple reply would have taken less than a minute, and the screen showed the transmission was a priority Alpha. This time, the Crewman visibly blanched as he read the message, and he spoke in a near whisper.

"Sir, I've just received a reply from Victor Station. The outpost...it stopped responding. They recommend preparing for immediate Covenant presence insystem."

"Do it. Upgrade the Alert to Alpha. Lieutenant, push the reactor as far as you can. I want the MAC gun charged at once."

The Beneleux's engines flared to life, and the entire ship shook as it struggled to break its position in low orbit. A hundred kilometers away, the rectangular Orbital Docking and Defense Station Victor hovered serenely, its thrusters occasionally lighting up to push the massive complex slightly higher. Suddenly, a circle of bright light appeared in a patch of stars, and the targeting computer flickered as the anomaly's distance flickered to an impossible height. Then, an all too familiar, bulbous shape emerged from the patch of distorted space. Moments later, the rest of the scout Covenant frigate emerged from Slipspace.

There were quiet oaths and much muttering from the command deck.

"Shit, there really are Covenant here. Oh shit..."

"Get a hold of yourself, Ensign. Send a distress signal to all ships in the Octanus and Dorado systems. We'll need the backup."

United Nations Space Command ALPHA PRIORITY TRANSMISSION 0322s-21 Encryption Code: Red Public Key:  
From:Captain Daniel Roosevelt, Commanding Officer, Captain of FFG-124/ (UNSC Service Number: 00205-14200-DH) To: ALL UNSC warships in AIDENN, EL DORADO, and OCTANUS systems,  
Subject: COVENANT FORCES DETECTED IN AIDENN SYSTEM Classification: Classified (BGX Directive)

/start file/  
Space-time distortions detected in Sector S-34 by Remote Scanning Outpost Fujikawa at 0621 hours (Military Time). File attached. Contact was subsequently lost with Outpost. Single LRS-class Covenant vessel sighted at 0625 hours (Military Time). Cole Protocol enacted at 0628 standard time. Request immediate assistance from all vessels in AIDENN and EL DORADO systems. ALL SHIPS are to group at rally point SIERRA.  
/end

No one mentioned that it would take at least an hour for the first reinforcements to arrive. By that time, they would either have destroyed the ship...or Aidenn would be yet another ball of molten glass.

"Get me a firing solution, and point us right at that bastard."

Roosevelt's voice was steady and loud, but he was shaking inside. These "scout" ships had three pulse lasers and a single plasma torpedo launcher, not enough to take on a large defensive fleet but more than enough for a lone frigate.

"MAC at 100, Captain. Firing."

The frigate shook violently from nose to stern as first one, then another of the depleted uranium slugs were fired. They slammed into the oval-shaped Covenant frigate, sending its shields down in a spectacular burst of electricity and tearing a huge hole in the vessel's side. A series of secondary explosions silently erupted along the ship's cleaved flank, and plasma drifted into space. The frigate, however, continued to move towards the planet.

"Launch Archers A through G, then recharge the MAC cannon. Pull it from our engines if you have to."

"Yes, Captain."

Hundreds of Archer missiles streaked from their pods on the Benelux's side, leaving thick trails of white in their wake, and spun as they homed in on the enemy ship. The enemy vessel continued to slowly cruise towards Aidenn, but there were flashes of amethyst from its starboard side and nose. All but a dozen of the Archer missiles were reduced to a cloud of debris and flame by the pulse lasers, and the remaining missiles impacted harmlessly on the scout's reestablished shields.

Dozens of dots streamed from the scout's sides: Spirit and Phantom dropships. A quartet of these, flanked by a pair of boarding craft, flew towards the seemingly inert Victor Station, while the rest sank into Aidenn's atmopshere. Things were about to get very unpleasant for the planet's residents.

There were bursts of light as the Station opened up on the four remaining dropships with its autocannons, filling the void with high explosive rounds. The Phantoms used their maneuverability to great effect, avoiding the vast majority of the rounds, but one of the shells impacted the lead dropship. It violently flew apart into a debris field, and the shrapnel tore the troop transport immediately behind it to pieces as well. By this time though, the survivors had made it through the killzone, and hovered into the Station's hanger bay. ODDS Victor had been boarded. Battle-hardened Majors dropped to the hanger bay floor, only to be torn to pieces by heavy machine gun positions and M-19'S. There were only four Elites left from the first group to come down by the time the survivors took cover.

Following orders barked by a silver-armoured Ultra Elite, the dozen or so Grunts in the group threw clusters at each stationary gun while the dropships provided cover fire. The turrets were consumed by clouds of blue electricity, along with those Naval personnel unwise enough to cluster nearby. With the odds suddenly in their favor, the lances of Covenant quickly massacred the remaining humans and stormed the area immediately beyond the hanger. The human presence was unexpected, and the vermin were putting up a real fight, but the Shipmaster had told them their duty. They had no intention of failing to fulfill it.

As the Station's crew attempted to fight off their unwelcome guests, things outside the structure were getting worse. The Covenant frigate had let out its second and , thankfully, final group of dropships and was now turning its attention back to the Beneleux. The UNSC frigate had deployed its fighters in an attempt to distract or destroy the Phantoms, only to see the scout frigate vaporize them while they were still out of weapons range.

Now, the Covenant captain had turned his attention back to the human attack ship that had wounded them so grievously in the battle's opening shots. Pulse lasers hissed through the vaccum as they intercepted Archer missiles. Captain Roosevelt watched grimly as the frigate came ever closer, cautious after the damage it had taken earlier.

Although there was no way the Covenant could know it, he had no way of taking the ship out. He only had a single MAC round remaining, and his Archer pods were all but depleted. The Beneleux's autocannon's wouldn't even dent thick Covenant armour, let alone their shields.

"Firing solution online. Last round, Captain."

"Fire."

The bullet shaped projectile hit the Covenant ship dead center, sending waves of energy rippling across its shields from the point of impact. The ship was pushed back slightly by the hit, but its energy shielding held. Daniel had noticed that their earlier hits had scrapped the enemy's plasma torpedo launcher, meaning they'd have to get close to do any real damage to the human frigate. Small satisfaction considering the overall tactical situation, but it was still something.

If the Beneleux had still been equipped with the standard Shiva missiles, they could have won. However, the missiles had been removed from the ship several weeks earlier for reassignment to vessels taking part in the Verin skirmish. It had made sense at the time.

The Covenant ship loomed larger in the tactical screen, and the projections along its side flickered from light blue to a dull crimson as it prepared to fire. Even as the Captain directed his crew to fire the frigate's last few Archers at the hostile ship, he knew it was a futile gesture.

Then the ship suddenly came apart as the Victor's mass driver flared, then fired again. The energy that had been collecting along the ship's energy projectors dissipated, sending crackles of static across the bridge's screens. There was a moment of stunned silence, then the bridge and COM broke into cheering as the crew expressed their relief at their miraculous escape.

The Captain allowed himself a small smile. However, he knew that the battle for the system had only begun. Covenant standard procedure dictated that ships report the presence of "infidels" in systems on sight, and the enemy's ships were several times faster than their UNSC counterparts. They'd had trouble fending off a lone , light warship. If a task force or ,worse yet, a fleet came, not amount of maneuvering and tactics would save the planet.

The mood suddenly faded as a panicked transmission played across the bridge.

"This is Commander Ferix, UNSC Colonial Militia. Covenant forces have landed in Eva. Repeat, Covenant forces in Eda. Main barracks destroyed by hostile air support. Request immediate reinforce..."

The transmission cut off midword, and the bridge fell silent. After a long moment, Roosevelt addressed his crew.

"Take us into a geosynchronous orbit above Eva, and tell all Army personnel to prepare for immediate landing."

"Yes, sir."

Over the next few minutes, hundreds of Pelican troop transports roared from the Benelux's hangers and dropped out of sight below the clouds. Moments later, hundreds of black, oblong pods fell from the frigate's belly and began to glow from reentry heat as they fell. Each pod contained an Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, or "Helljumper". These would come as a nasty shock to the Covenant. That, or they'd be blown out of the air.

Daniel put the cynical thought out of his mind and turned his attention to the black patch of space the first enemy ship had emerged from.

"Those reinforcements had better get here soon..." 


	2. Chapter 02: Helljumpers

(written by Garryll Gates )

Corporal Kyle 'One Man Army' Johnson blinked the sweat out of his eyes as his droppod hit a new level of speed. He was showing all green on his vitals, as were his fireteam's. They plunged deep into the atmosphere, chutes deploying and flapping off.

Finally, the ODST's drop pod smashed into the ground. He detached his restraints, pulled his weapons from their holders. He blew the front off the capsule. It smashed into a nearby wall of rock.

He looked around. His squad was all intact; Jefferies, his sniper, was already strolling towards his position. West, a basic rifleman, was peering through a pair of binoculars, his MA5B slung. Smith, his lance, was swinging his Battle Rifle around the vicinity. He gave them a thumbs-up. Johnson slung his rocket launcher onto his back, and picked up his satchel packs. He carried his M7 SMG in his hands.

"Okay, boys! We're moving out! Our objective is this bridge! We are to hold it to prevent the Covenant from getting into downtown Eva!"

He highlighted a short bridge over a thin, fast moving river. It was about a mile away.

"Form up!" he ordered, pointing in the direction of the bridge - "Won't want to keep the LT waiting!"

Sgt. William Gates was taking a more leisurely route down, via Pelican. The LT had wanted his squads to go down separately, as their objective was in a major landing zone. Squads 3A and 3C, commanded by the LT and Sgt. June were among the first down, sent to secure the LZ. Squad 3B was to take the easy way down, and carry most of the heavy-weapon specs of 3rd Platoon.

Gates inspected his weapons again; M9 pistol, SRS99C-S2 AMB sniper's rifle, and BR-55.

"Touchdown in 3 minutes!" yelled the pilot, prompting the rest of the Helljumpers to check rocket launchers, rifles, SMG's, grenades, and so on.

The dropship touched down, and the ODSTs filed out. Squad 3A's assistant section leader ran forward.

"Sir!" yelled the ODST over the screaming engines of a dozen Pelicans.

"Where's the LT!" yelled Gates as the Pelican lifted off.

"He got hit as soon as we dropped in! You're in charge right now, sir!"

"Damn it!"

"What, sir?"

"Forget it! Form up the squads!"

"Copy, sir!"

The three squads ran up to the Assembly area; the LT was being carted back up to the Benelux. Already.

"We have orders to set up a secondary outpost in this area." Gates told the troops; he referenced a map; it was a couple miles away from the other two major firebases, but pointed at the Covenant's landing zone.

"Respectfully, sir, this is suicide," said one of the PFC's, nervously shifting feet. "We're going to be in front of a hot-god-damn Covenant army."

"Not my fault. Take it up with the Captain next time you see him."

"Copy, sir."

"Now, we, that is, third platoon, have a pretty important mission; set up an armed and defensible position that will give us a view of the Covenant's advance."

Gates looked down at his orders, then ordered, "Follow me. We're going to get a little help."

The troops marched behind him, around engineers setting up defensive structures of FireBase Bravo, and back to the LZ.

There, a Navy officer with the insignia of a Quartermaster corps and a clipboard took their names. "Which one of you is Lieutenant Gill?"

"He got hit as soon as we got here. I'm in charge. Sgt. Gates."

"Here's your vehicles. Now get out of the way."

Gates and his platoon walked over to the assembly area; they had been assigned a 'Behemoth'-class Transport, generally called 'Elephant' as well as 2 troop 'hogs, a pair of normal 'Hogs, and a couple Wolverine Anti-air tanks.

The marines loaded into the vehicles, and they were off to their co-ordinates.

United Nations Space Command ALPHA PRIORITY TRANSMISSION 0322s-21 Encryption Code: Red Public Key:  
From:Captain Daniel Roosevelt, Commanding Officer, Captain of FFG-124/ (UNSC Service Number: 00205-14200-DH)  
To: ALL UNSC warships in AIDENN, EL DORADO, and OCTANUS systems,  
Subject: COVENANT FORCES DETECTED IN AIDENN SYSTEM Classification: Classified (BGX Directive)

/start file/  
Space-time distortions detected in Sector S-34 by Remote Scanning Outpost Fujikawa at 0621 hours (Military Time). File attached. Contact was subsequently lost with Outpost. Single LRS-class Covenant vessel sighted at 0625 hours (Military Time). Cole Protocol enacted at 0628 standard time. Request immediate assistance from all vessels in AIDENN and EL DORADO systems. ALL SHIPS are to group at rally point SIERRA.  
/end

Captain Paul Harrison looked at the Alpha-priority message. He turned to his navigation ensign.  
"Get us to Aidenn System double-time."

"Aye, sir." the navigation officer looked down at his controls, typing in commands.

The UNSC Destroyer Integral, along with a pair of other Destroyers, its sister ships Fearless and Bunker Hill, as well as a frigate, The Patriot

The four ships formed up, and charged their Shaw-Fujikawa drives to jump to the planet under siege.  
"Get me a firing solution, and point us right at that bastard."

Roosevelt's voice was steady and loud, but he was shaking inside. These "scout" ships had three pulse lasers and a single plasma torpedo launcher, not enough to take on a large defensive fleet but more than enough for a lone frigate.

"MAC at 100, Captain. Firing."

The frigate shook violently from nose to stern as first one, then another of the depleted uranium slugs were fired. They slammed into the oval-shaped Covenant frigate, sending its shields down in a spectacular burst of electricity and tearing a huge hole in the vessel's side. A series of secondary explosions silently erupted along the ship's cleaved flank, and plasma drifted into space. The frigate, however, continued to move towards the planet.

"Launch Archers A through G, then recharge the MAC cannon. Pull it from our engines if you have to."

"Yes, Captain."

Hundreds of Archer missiles streaked from their pods on the Benelux's side, leaving thick trails of white in their wake, and spun as they homed in on the enemy ship. The enemy vessel continued to slowly cruise towards Aidenn, but there were flashes of amethyst from its starboard side and nose. All but a dozen of the Archer missiles were reduced to a cloud of debris and flame by the pulse lasers, and the remaining missiles impacted harmlessly on the scout's reestablished shields.

Dozens of dots streamed from the scout's sides: Spirit and Phantom dropships. A quartet of these, flanked by a pair of boarding craft, flew towards the seemingly inert Victor Station, while the rest sank into Aidenn's atmopshere. Things were about to get very unpleasant for the planet's residents.

Corporal Kyle 'One Man Army' Johnson blinked the sweat out of his eyes as his droppod hit a new level of speed. He was showing all green on his vitals, as were his fireteam's. They plunged deep into the atmosphere, chutes deploying and flapping off.

Finally, the ODST's drop pod smashed into the ground. He detached his restraints, pulled his weapons from their holders. He blew the front off the capsule. It smashed into a nearby wall of rock.

He looked around. His squad was all intact; Jefferies, his sniper, was already strolling towards his position. West, a basic rifleman, was peering through a pair of binoculars, his MA5B slung. Smith, his lance, was swinging his Battle Rifle around the vicinity. He gave them a thumbs-up. Johnson slung his rocket launcher onto his back, and picked up his satchel packs. He carried his M7 SMG in his hands.

"Okay, boys! We're moving out! Our objective is this bridge! We are to hold it to prevent the Covenant from getting into downtown Eva!"

He highlighted a short bridge over a thin, fast moving river. It was about a mile away.

"Form up!" he ordered, pointing in the direction of the bridge - "Won't want to keep the LT waiting!"

Sgt. William Gates was taking a more leisurely route down, via Pelican. The LT had wanted his squads to go down separately, as their objective was in a major landing zone. Squads 3A and 3C, commanded by the LT and Sgt. June were among the first down, sent to secure the LZ. Squad 3B was to take the easy way down, and carry most of the heavy-weapon specs of 3rd Platoon.

Gates inspected his weapons again; M9 pistol, SRS99C-S2 AMB sniper's rifle, and BR-55.

"Touchdown in 3 minutes!" yelled the pilot, prompting the rest of the Helljumpers to check rocket launchers, rifles, SMG's, grenades, and so on.

The dropship touched down, and the ODSTs filed out. Squad 3A's assistant section leader ran forward.

"Sir!" yelled the ODST over the screaming engines of a dozen Pelicans.

"Where's the LT!" yelled Gates as the Pelican lifted off.

"He got hit as soon as we dropped in! You're in charge right now, sir!"

"Damn it!"

"What, sir?"

"Forget it! Form up the squads!"

"Copy, sir!"

The three squads ran up to the Assembly area; the LT was being carted back up to the Benelux. Already.

"We have orders to set up a secondary outpost in this area." Gates told the troops; he referenced a map; it was a couple miles away from the other two major firebases, but pointed at the Covenant's landing zone.

"Respectfully, sir, this is suicide," said one of the PFC's, nervously shifting feet. "We're going to be in front of a hot-god-damn Covenant army."

"Not my fault. Take it up with the Captain next time you see him."

"Copy, sir."

"Now, we, that is, third platoon, have a pretty important mission; set up an armed and defensible position that will give us a view of the Covenant's advance."

Gates looked down at his orders, then ordered, "Follow me. We're going to get a little help."

The troops marched behind him, around engineers setting up defensive structures of FireBase Bravo, and back to the LZ.

There, a Navy officer with the insignia of a Quartermaster corps and a clipboard took their names. "Which one of you is Lieutenant Gill?"

"He got hit as soon as we got here. I'm in charge. Sgt. Gates."

"Here's your vehicles. Now get out of the way."

Gates and his platoon walked over to the assembly area; they had been assigned a 'Behemoth'-class Transport, generally called 'Elephant' as well as 2 troop 'hogs, a pair of normal 'Hogs, and a couple Wolverine Anti-air tanks.

The marines loaded into the vehicles, and they were off to their co-ordinates.

United Nations Space Command ALPHA PRIORITY TRANSMISSION 0322s-21 Encryption Code: Red Public Key:  
From:Captain Daniel Roosevelt, Commanding Officer, Captain of FFG-124/ (UNSC Service Number: 00205-14200-DH)  
To: ALL UNSC warships in AIDENN, EL DORADO, and OCTANUS systems,  
Subject: COVENANT FORCES DETECTED IN AIDENN SYSTEM Classification: Classified (BGX Directive)

/start file/  
Space-time distortions detected in Sector S-34 by Remote Scanning Outpost Fujikawa at 0621 hours (Military Time). File attached. Contact was subsequently lost with Outpost. Single LRS-class Covenant vessel sighted at 0625 hours (Military Time). Cole Protocol enacted at 0628 standard time. Request immediate assistance from all vessels in AIDENN and EL DORADO systems. ALL SHIPS are to group at rally point SIERRA.  
/end

Captain Paul Harrison looked at the Alpha-priority message. He turned to his navigation ensign.  
"Get us to Aidenn System double-time."

"Aye, sir." the navigation officer looked down at his controls, typing in commands.

The UNSC Destroyer Integral, along with a pair of other Destroyers, its sister ships Fearless and Bunker Hill, as well as a frigate, The Patriot

The four ships formed up, and charged their Shaw-Fujikawa drives to jump to the planet under siege. 


	3. Chapter 03:Quoth the Raven

(written by Verkur)

Sgt. Grimm moved through his normal routine of preparation, sliding on and clipping the rest of his ODST suit together, checking everything before grabbing his helmet and dropping it over his spiky haired head. Grimm moved through the UNSC Frigate _Benelux_ towards the hanger, and the rest of the squad he was stationed with would be waiting. A few moments later, just outside the drop bay, the prep sirens went off. Red lights flashed, and sirens howled through the personnel filled corridors.

Grimm stepped through the sliding doorway and into the drop bay, the other seven members of _Raven Team_ stood around their drop pods, awaiting orders from command. Grimm nodded to his fellow troopers as he neared the circle of Helljumpers. Grimm bent his knees in an attempt to stay upright as the ship shook as an explosion shook the Frigate, a wound from the ship battle earlier on. Standing straight up and regaining his composure, the ships comms. crackled to life.

"All UNSC personnel, this is your captain speaking. All military personnel to battle stations."

Smiling from behind his helmet, Grimm rubbed the symbol etched into his black armor. A few moments later their team leader walked in, Staff Sergeant James Tagert. Everyone saluted their commanding officer and made way for him to enter the circle of troopers.

"Ok ladies, heres the deal. We suit up and head planet side. We are to meet up with 105th ODST Division of 3rd Platoon and help them with what ever they need. Once they're set, we move into Eva and start the real fight. Suit ladies, we move in ten." Tagert explained then moved to the weapons rack to fill up on ammo.

The group nodded and moved to follow, their boots sounding out on the metal floors. Everyone grabbed their spec related weapon, and then a second of their own preference. Grabbing his usual payload, Grimm lifted a BR-55 off the rack, loaded it and grabbed a few extra clips, moving down the rack to get his second weapon, a MA5B. With both weapons in hand, Grimm moved over to his drop pod, placing his weapons in their racks.

With his weapons in place, Grimm stepped into his HEV, strapped himself in, and hit the ready button causing the pods door to lower and then lock into place, a slight hiss emanating from the metal shell insuring a tight and safe seal. Several minutes alter, all nine pod lights lit up as green.

"Hold on to your panties girls..." Tagert started but was cut off as his body as well as his HEV was launched from the _Integral_ and towards the planet below.

One by one the pods were launched from the ship and into space, each ODST jerking slightly inside their 

respective HEV pods. Grimm sat in his pod, his eyes closed, his breathing calm and steady. This was just another day at the office for him. His mind was going over tactics and ROE, and as the floor beneath his feet grew hot, he opened his eyes and smiled, _Feet first into hell._

The thought lingered as the floor grew hotter, and then was washed away as the HEV jerked as the drag chute was released and the pod jerked back to slow its decent slightly. A few more minutes passed, the metal floor still hot, then a tremendous thud that shook the pod as it landed. Clicking his harness, the hatch flew off the HEV, and the ODST's of Raven disengaged their pods, grabbing their weapons and forming up on SSgt Tagert.

"Ok ladies, lets move out and find the 105th. Should be close, but still a hike." The SSgt commanded.

Forming up Raven team moved out towards it's first objective.


	4. Chapter 04: Burning Bridges

(written by Dante)

Ninth Age of Reclamation  
Planet HGY-34 "Aidenn"  
Human Structure Type-4. "Sherman Bridge"

Korsa Feram'ee, at eight feet tall and clad in the silver-white armour that marked him as an Ultra Field Commander, was among the highest ranked Covenant on this planet. It appeared the human infidels knew it as "Aidenn". There weren't even supposed to be humans here, just holy relics, but the vermin bred like flies, spreading across the stars and defiling sacred objects with their touch. They were here in force as well, with hundreds of their settlements, and doubtless many of their "marines".

The Field Commander knew that there was no way for his forces to hold the humans off forever, but they might be able to survive until more reinforcements arrived. Before he'd suddenly lost contact with their frigate's Shipmaster, Korsa had requested that he call for aid. The Shipmaster, Ferin Drosov'ee, had readily agreed and was confirming that the transmission had been sent when his ship had been destroyed.

The explosion was visible from Korsa's position in the Eda outskirts, and morale had noticably dropped. The fact that, subsequently, their only remaining air units were the Phantoms that had dropped them off didn't help either, especially as missile pods and antiaircraft guns had sent six of the emptied transports crashing down.

Korsa looked towards the human structures in the distance through his monocular, and was disquieted by what he saw. There were the hideous, blocky human structures known as "skyscrapers" and their squat, polluting factories, but none of this was unexpected.

The problem was the massive convoy of vehicles making their way over the highway towards their position. There were several of the infidel long barreled tanks, four "Warthog " wheeled transports, and a substantial number of infantry troops armed with their long barreled projectile weapons. Korsa bared his fangs in disgust. These infidels were so incredibly backwards and inferior, yet they refused to repent if their blasphemies and join the Covenant in their righteous crusade. Surely, the Forerunner would have at least given them a chance to repent.

Feram'ee shook his head from side to side. Now was not the time for pondering dogma, but for combat. The tanks were powerful in a stand-up fight, but had limited angles of fire and relied on line of sight, weaknesses he could exploit. The massive _thing_ rolling in the middle of the group seemed to be lightly armed. If the worst came to the worst, he could simply reduce it to ash with his Phantom's guns and his armour's plasma mortars.

The Ultra Elite gently probed at a silver clip mounted on his leg armour, his clawed fingers moving with surprising grace and delicacy. He pried the holder open and clutched the ornate cylinder it had held in one gloved hand. He depressed a switch on the device, and a blade of brilliant azure came to life in his hand. Lifting the ceremonial sword above his head, Field Commander Korsa Feram'ee surveyed his force. Fully one third of the Covenant presence on the planet was standing at attention around him, constantly moving as they checked battery charges, opened up pouches of grenades and handed them down to their comrades, or simply shifting from foot to foot as they waited for the action to start. Grunts waddled around or slept despite the hardness of the road, Jackals hissed through pointed teeth as they activated their characteristic energy shields, and the Elites stood stiffly at attention as they waited for the orders of their Prophet-blessed commander. When he spoke, the artificially amplified words echoed through the ranks.

"Warriors, prepare yourselves. The honour of the Covenant is at stake, and the relics of our lords are at risk of defilement. For the Great Journey!"

"For the Great Journey!"

The phrase was roared by almost a thousand throats, and rifles were waved aloft in the army's collective zeal. They set to work, with two dozen stationary plasma cannons set up along the river's bank _and_ on the brdige itself. A Hunter pair stomped across the bridge, brushing through barricades as though they were paper and ignoring their makers' outraged squeals and growls. With massive gel-based weapons mounted on their armour-plated right "arms", the duo were a force to be reckoned with. They hummed and growled to each other as they advanced.

Kora's helmet whined, and the harsh voice of the Phantom's pilot echoed in his ear.

"Excellency, the humans are in weapons range."

"Good. We will slay these unbelievers, cleanse them with our holy flames."

He turned, raised the sword to helmet height. Five Wraiths whirred as their plasma mortars popped out from storage. Korsa dropped his arm. Each tank fired one mortar, then two more. Fifteen plasma mortar rounds curved through the air and imapcted in the still-invisible enemy formation. There were screams, followed by explosions, and Korsas mandibles spread slightly wider.

"Pilot, strafe these apes. Mgalekgolo, lead the assault. Forward, warriors!"

As one, the Covenant horde charged ,screaming and firing, towards the approaching humans.


	5. Chapter 05: Turnaround

(written by Blue Leader and Dante)

First Lieutenant Ric Liansi jumped off of Pelican Bravo 22, hitting the paved ground the exact moment as the other three Pelicans landed. 1st Platoon jumped and hopped out of the four Pelicans, two at a time, each one with the anticipation that took the heart of Liansi. The three Pelicans that were meant for carrying troops and a vehicle dropped their warthogs, while the other Pelican - Lima 910 - unloaded her troopers and flew into the distance. Liansi cocked his head 90 degrees and cracked it as he jumped into the nearest hog, the Passenger Seat was as uncomfortable as always. Liansi raised his Battle Rifle over the winshield, and looked around at the driver and gunner. All great men. Liansi put his finger up to his earpiece and pushed it in:

"3rd Platoon this is 1st Platoon, we are on our way. Hold your position." Liansi spoke into the headset, and braced as the warthog went over a massive bump. The city scape was at the peak of sunset, a bloody one. Looking up into the sunset Liansi shielded his eyes at both the sunset, and a single squadron of Hornets. "3rd Platoon this is 1st Platoon, lets roll." 1st Platoon flew over a hill and the four warthogs shifted uneasily as they rolled down a grassy hill straight towards charging Covenant.

"1st Platoon this is 3rd Platoon, eta ten seconds." Ten seconds later, six tanks, and a few warthogs flew over the hill on the other side of the hill. The six tank stopped at the top of the hill, took aim, and fired. The shots decimated the ground near the bridge, scaring the Covvies shitless.

"... oh shit ..." Liansi muttered as plasma reeked through the warthog and decimated the gunner, "Driver, turn us-" Liansi was cut off as a plasma grenade landed next to the warthog. As the plasma exploded the warthog went in a full flip, landing straight on its back. Liansi was alive - barely. Looking around he saw the legs of miniature grunts running towards the hog, squealing. The warthog began to flame up as Liansi began to crawl out of the body of Private First Class D. Echos, the driver. Jumping out of the warthog he turned around - three grunts in site. Two shots echoed out of his battle rifle and one grunt fell to the ground.

Private Joan Kennedy screamed at the top of her lungs as she pumped 12.7x99mm armor penetrating rounds into Covenant flesh armour. Along with the two other remaining warthogs, her ATV was wreaking havoc on the relatively lightly armoured Covenant infantry. Grunts fell with their torsoes ripped to shreds, Jacakals flew apart as their shields flared and vanished, and Elites tried to find cover from the barrage.

She heard the whine of a gravity drive and saw half a dozen blue-white plasma bolts impact on the Warthog's plating.

"Ghosts! Take 'em out!"

The three Hogs, combined with the heavy machine guns mounted on the Elephant, tore through plating, 

shields, and flesh. Two of the vehicles simply came apart mid-boost, while the last swerved to the left, came to a stop, then also erupted into flame.

The Covenant advance had been stalled, with plasma turrets and machine guns trading fire and half of their initial force dead. The Ultra had managed to survive the crossfire, and was now commanding from one of three remaining Wraith tanks.

There was a whine, and Joan's heart seemed to stop. She knew what that low noise, something between a hum and a whine signified. Phantom dropships. The heavily armed troop transports were fast and maneuverable, and their plasma turrets were capable of killing even SPARTANs in a few shots.

The four Scorpions stationed behind the UNSC lines fired, and two of the vehicles weapons fell, but it simply drifted higher until it was above the main battle tanks' firing height and then unleashed a barrage of plasma on the UNSC forces. It focused on the largest target, the Elephant, first. It had never been designed for an assault from directly _above_ it, and its armour quickly melted, leaving it a smoldering wreck. Taking heart from the destruction of their largest foe, the Covenant resumed their assault. Plasma mortars consumed one Warthog, then another, until Joan's was the only one left. M-19 rocket-wielding Marines and the Scorpions retaliated, and two Wraiths dropped with a clang of metal on metal, but the Phantom continued to inflict casualties.

Private Joan Kennerdy (KIA) was trying to angle her weapon's barrel to fire on the dropship when the first beam of superheated gel impacted her Hog. She never even knew what hit her as the fuel rod vaporized her and her weapon. A second shot reduced what remained of the ATV to a burning scrap pile. The Hunter pair then charged into the fray, roaring defiance at the puny humans desperately firing at it. Bullets bounced right off the hive creatures' thick armour plating, flying wildly in all directions.

Wraiths launched round after round of superheated gas into the suddenly splintered human forces. The leading Scorpion tank that had ,until then, been responsible for the majority of casualties took three direct hits and simply ceased to be. Shade fire continued to rain down from the Phantom, and the Covenant Wraiths began to advance across the bridge as their Field Commander started planning the mop-up.

That was when the group of three Pelicans, flanked by half a dozen Hornet ATVOLs, arrived on the scene. 70 mm depleted uranium rounds and ANVIL-II missiles slammed into the hapless Phantom hovering in midair, destroying its gravity drives and sending it spiraling down to the ground to go up in a spectacular explosions. A Hornet went down from a well aimed series of Fuel Rod projectiles, but the others quickly raked the area with homing missiles and machine gun fire.

As Marine reinforcements rappelled down from the Pelican troop bays, the Hornets slaughtered the Covenant infantry. Grunts, Jackals, and Elites fled in terror, cut down from behind by automatic machine guns and rooftop sniper teams. There were still the Wraiths to deal with, but they quickly vanished under a barrage of air to surface missiles and artillery shells.  


The surviving Covenant, armed with a trio of Shades, still held the other side of the riverbank, but they were vastly ournumbered and demoralized.

For all intents and purposes, the Battle for Sherman Bridge was over.


	6. Chapter 06: So It Goes

(written by Garryl Gates and Dante)

"Sherman Bridge is secure!" an officer said over the tac-com.

Corporal Johnson's fireteam had met up with another of their platoon's fireteams. They were heading for another objective; a small town in the suburbs.

This town was a few miles south of the Covenants' landing zone. The LT had told the two fireteams to secure it. They had backup on hand in a pair of Troop 'Hogs just outside of a half-mile away. They carried only regular marines, but they were fresh and battle-hardened.

The seven men and one woman (the other fireteam leader) approached the town cautiously. "Look, sir. Covenant." said Smith, pointing. There were indeed a couple dozen covenant; a pair of the blue Elites, a single red one, a fireteam of Jackals, and the rest, a dozen or so Grunts.

Johnson called the two fireteams in: "Here's the plan. Snipers, wait for the signal. Blow two of those Elites to hell. Everyone else, we'll find someplace to attack them at. Fill 'em with bullets and don't die. Kill everything as fast as possible. Signal is 'Time to kill some stupid bastards.'"

"Break!" said West half-seriously. "What, I used to play QB at USC!"

Several minutes later

The six marines were in position, most of them hiding in a pair of buildings. Johnson was crouched behind a wall, as his SMG was a really shitty weapon at long range.

The first half-dozen Grunts passed his cover. Johnson barely breathed. A pair of Jackals; a blue Elite.

"Time to kill some stupid bastards."

Two high-velocity rounds smashed into the Red Elite and Blue elite, killing the first, his head blown off, and the other was grasping his entrails as they spilled onto the ground.

The rest of the Covenant stopped in stupidity. That's when the other six weapons opened fire. The other Elite was dead almost instantly as the three battle rifles opened fire on it; Johnson killed a Jackal that was turning towards him with a long burst.

The two Assault rifles barked, chewing holes in Grunts, and blew one's methane tank. It, along with a Jackal with the poor luck to stand near it, were killed instantly.

Suddenly, a Jackal jumped onto Kyle's back. It knocked his SMG from his hands. In response, the Marine reached up and grabbed the Jackal by his wrists and hurled him over his shoulders, then pulled his magnum from his side and put a trio of quick rounds through his head.

The last of the Covenant fell silent. They were all dead.

3rd Platoon

Gates sat calmly in the lead Warthog's passenger seat; they were headed to what, according to his map, was a ground-to-space relay station, and was important to hold it if they wanted nearly-impossible to jam communications. His 3rd Platoon and now a couple of squads of Marines were also coming to help secure the position.

The convoy rolled into the complex. Gates began to set up his defenses; his men were set to setting up motion sensors; the Warthogs were set up to be a quick-reaction force; they discoupled a few chainguns for a little more protection. The Elephant was placed inside the complex. Sandbag bunkers were set up, The Wolverines were set up.

Marines, about 50 now, were patrolling the area. Snipers were deployed at key points, and heavy arms like grenades and rockets were distributed. If the Covenant attacked here, they'd be screwed so fast it wouldn't be funny.

**Factory Complex Alpha Tango 2**

Dornas Kernam'ee was not in a good situation. He'd been leading a lance through one of the human factory complexes when a pair of human grenades had bounced into the middle of his team. The shrapnel had torn the Unggoy to pieces and sliced through his left leg. The fire team had fired a few rounds through his seemingly dead body, then moved on. The bullets were still inside him, and Domas left a trail of purple ichor behind him as he tried to crawl away from the massacre. He managed to find a large, hollow container, and dragged himself into it. Dornas let himself collapse for a moment, just a moment he told himself, and closed his eyes. That was when the Minor Domo heard a distinctive clack, directly behind him. The Elite didn't even bother to turn around as the 7.62 AP rounds ripped through flesh, brains, and what remained of his combat harness. Private McEasin looked at the sprawled alien, spat, then fired another burst into the body.

So it goes.

**Sherman Bridge**

Unggoy were happiest in packs. Flissap was a very unhappy member of his species. He'd been at his deck's food nipple when the call to arms had begun, and had only half finished feeding when his lance leader had forcibly pulled him away from the delicious milk. He'd dropped his plasma pistol in the Phantom due to the shaking, and the Major Domo had grabbed him by the front of his combat harness and shook him. Even with the armour, it had hurt. The Phantom had come to a sudden stop, and Flissap had dropped his weapon again. Luckily, or so the Unggoy had thought, his superior had been too occupied with looking down at the scene below to notice. Then, Flissap saw the scene as well, and 

nearly wet himself. He'd never seen so many humans before, and there were their big, scary machines as well. Acting on instinct, he immediately panicked.

"Big scary thing! Aaaaa..."

Flissap'd was cut off mid-scream by a well-aimed whack on the helmet from his lance leader. Flissap was quiet for a moment as the world spun around him, then screamed as he realized that he was drifting down a gravity lift with no visible means of support. The Unggoy landed face first and didn't get up, which turned out to be a good thing as that was the moment the trio of humans hiding behind the garbage container fired their M-19 launchers. Flissap had time to squeak before the rounds hit.

So it goes.


	7. Chapter 07: Here We Go Again

(written by Dante and Garryl Gates)

**UNSC Frigate **_**Benelux**_

The Captain listened to the reports coming in as the Marines swept Eva clean of the remaining Covenant.

"Charlie 3 reporting in. Zulu Sector...clear."

There were no cheers, not after what it had cost them. Aidenn had hundreds of research facilities spread across the planet, developing everything from improved sidearms to entirely new forms of anti-vehicle weapon. Most of the factories were intact, but there had been a heavy price for success. 60 percent of Eva's citizens hadn't evacuated in time, and many had fallen victim to the brutality and ravenous appetites of the Covenant's lesser races. Most of the surviving civilians were now on board freighters leaving the system for safer areas, doubtless wondering if they would ever see their homes again. The group of ships passed the Frigate in a constant stream, and their leader contacted Roosevelt.

"Captain, this is Tango Convoy. Thanks...thanks for saving our skins up here."

"Only doing my duty, my old friend. Godspeed, Robert."

"Thank you, Daniel. Good luck."

With that, the group flickered and vanished into the twisting realms of Slipspace. Aidenn's defenders were alone.

Daniel shifted from foot to foot, then turned to the Ensign at the scanning station.

"Keep an eye out for anything that looks like a subspace rupture. We can't be caught napping."

"Yes, sir."

The bridge crewman continued to monitor the displays for several minutes. Then the alarms began to sound again.

"Sir, there are four objects emerging from Slipspace, directly behind us. Friendly contacts; three destroyers and one frigate." The Ensign was almost weeping as he spoke. "We're saved, sir."

_I wouldn't be so sure about that._

The TACCOM came to life, and Roosevelt heard the Texan drawl of the _Integral_'s commander, Rear 

Admiral Joseph Ardin.

"Captain, nice of you to hold the fort while we showed up."

"The pleasure was mine, Rear Admiral."

Normally, Roosevelt would never be sarcastic to a superior officer, but something about the man's casual manner simply irritated him, especially considering how many of his crew had died to "hold down the fort".

The Rear Admiral's response would remain unknown, as an all-too familiar flickering had appeared on the far side of the planet. Then, the bulbous nose of a CCS-battlecruiser slid through the gap in reality, followed by the rest of the cruiser and a pair of sleek frigates. It was a Covenant battlegroup, doubtless summoned by the scout ship that had started this mess. As Daniel watched helplessly, the ships sent plasma at Victor Station. The resupply structure desperately tried to destroy the shots with its autocannons and mass driver, but the rounds were simply melted by the shots' heat. Then they hit, and Victor Station vanished, replaced by an expanding debris cloud.

Looking at the ships and the station's remains, Captain Roosevelt could only think of one thing to say.

"Oh, shit..."

Captain Paul Harrison, the _real_ commander of _Integral_, gritted and ground his teeth.

Had the file not come ten _seconds_ later, the Rear Admiral would have been off of his ship, and back where he belonged, on _Bunker Hill_.

Sure, Harrison was also from Texas, but that had created only more problems for the Captain. Rear Admiral Ardin was intelligent, certainly, a good tactician, surely, an admiral, of course, but obnoxious and inconsiderate to the letter? Unfortunate.

Harrison ground his teeth again; Adrin was a young fool, having seen less conflict than any of the older Captains or Admirals, like the old 'schoolmasters' in Keyes or his lot; he'd not even joined until a few years after Harvest. He had never seen a world glassed.

"Sir! Covenant Contacts!" Lt. Commander Joseph Quirelly, the unflappable second-in-command of _Integral_.

"Main screen," Harrison drawled in his own heavy accent before Adrin could spout the obvious order.

A CSS-Class Battlecruiser 'slipped' back into reality. A pair of frigates came up on its flanks.

"Oh hell!" an ensign stuttered.

Adrin was blinking very rapidly, going through his memories of OCS to remember the uses and dangers of the CSS-class.

It didn't bode well; one of these BattleCruisers was worth as many as a half-dozen Destroyers; all they had was a trio of Destroyers, and two frigates, one damaged, out of MAC rounds, no fighters, no nukes. So really, four on three. Fair? Not even close.

Maybe, just maybe, they could take them out. MACS? Nukes? Archer Missiles? Longswords? There was no realistic way that the UNSC battle group could win. But they must try.

Adrin snapped out of his half-trance. "CSS Battlecruiser. Deadly; 1700 meters long. UNSC High Command estimates a 4-5 Destroyer ratio. Covenant Frigates; 1000 meters long. Dangerous. More than a match for most Destroyers or Frigates."

"Helpful, Admiral, but we need to stop them."

"Uh, I don't know how."

"I know that. Contact the fleet. Charge our MAC guns, remove the safeties on our first nuke. We are initiating the Cole Protocol _now_."

Navigation was purged. Nukes were armed. The MAC guns of the fleet began to charge; seven, two to each Destroyer, one on the frigate. Four nukes were armed. "Focus fire on the CSS. Fire at optimal range."


	8. Chapter 08: Torpedoes away, Captain!

Written by Garryl Gates and Dante. Remember, review if you like it!

Disclaimer: In an alternate universe, I own Microsoft, Bungie Studios, and 7 world powers. But this isn't it, so Bungie's plans for world domination have not come to fruition.

_"There's one thing I have to make clear, gentlemen. Under no circumstances can Aidenn be allowed to fall. Not only are the research facilities there of vital importance, but we also have the structures. You all know what I'm talking about. Those ruins have been there for God knows how long, and our weaponry has been boosted ahead by years from the hieroglyphs alone. I hardly need to remind anyone of the Galilean. If the Covenant get its hands on Aidenn, the war could be over in a matter of weeks. Do I make myself clear?"_

Vice Admiral Margaret O. Parangosky, discussing Aidenn shortly after recieving the message from _**Benelux**_

**Ministry of Tranquility, **_**High Charity**_**, Holy City of the Covenant. 9th Age of Reclamation**

RECEIVED:  
System HGY-34, _Exalted Dogma_, Fleet of Inspired Devotion

(process owner:Associated Intelligence DF-232, attached to _Exalted Dogma_)

Sizable infidel taint detected in system. Relic presence confirmed. Reclaimant forces under attack from infidel. Reinforcements requested.

FORWARDING...  
FORWARDING...  
Destination?  
DESTINATION CONFIRMED.  
Transmission forwarded to Fleet of Inspired Devotion, Fleet of Unyielding Faith, Ministry of Etiology, Ministry of Cleansing.

RECEIVING TRANSMISSION...

RECEIVED:  
Location undetermined (Slipspace) _Cleansing Purity_, Fleet of Inspired Devotion

(process owner:Associated Intelligence GH-232, attached to _Cleansing Purity_)

Transmission received. Preparing fleet for attack on system. The infidels will be removed, and their foul taint cleansed.

END TRANSMISSION.

**CCS-class Battlecruiser **_**Exalted Dogma**_**  
Ninth Age of Reclamation**

Vorsa Feram'ee, Shipmaster of the _Dogma_, stared at the flashing holograms in disbelief, then opened his manibles in a furious snarl. The human vermin had unleashed a barrage of their projectiles on his ships, stripping away it's shielding and punching through the _Dogma_. As his bodyguards and bridge personnel got back to their feet, Vorsa scanned the damage reports filtering in from his ship. One of the frigate rounds had hit their nose, doing superificial damage, while a second, luckym shot had disabled a plasma torpedo launcher. A uselessly minor wound, but Vorsa's ire was up. The humans had wounded his vessel, and had in doing so insulted his honour. The Zealot Shipmaster intended to make them pay the price in full.

"Target their...destroyer." The gold armoured shipmaster spat the word out as though afraid it would burn him. "Have the frigates clense the rest of the filth."

The ships moved under his orders, and the Zealot raised one clawed hand.

"Fire."

_By the Gods, there had better be relics enough to justify this._

UNSC _Integral_

"Sir! The enemy capital ship is firing!" an ensign reported. "Several plasma bursts are headed right for us!"

"We're so screwed." Rich said, then fainted.

"Damn fool. Weapons! What's our MAC Charge?"

"88, climbing quick! But its our last round!" reported the officer.

"We're likely going to die anyway! Fire when ready, and coordinate all the rest of our missiles and nukes!"

Harrison was effectively committing a self-destruction; with no charge to move the ship, they had no chance of dodging the plasma.

The frigate _Patriot_ simply melted, hit by a trio of plasma bursts.

The _Integral's_ weapons finally read green.

"Goodbye, you split-jawed sons of bitches." Harrison muttered as his ship launched every last piece of ordanance at its most hated foe; a massive thunderbolt, over 250 missiles and two nukes.

The ship was consumed by fire.

_Patriot s_uddenly vanished from the sensor grid, replaced by a heat bloom and debris field. A moment later, the second wave of plasma impacted _Integral_. The COM was filled with queries and shouts of surprise as the destroyer buckled, then fragmented. White-hot pieces of debris flew in all directions, creating brief flashes of light where they impacted on other pieces of debris and several unlucy escort Longswords.

The two battleships hadn't gone down without a fight, however. The lead Covenant cruiser was spinning out of control, almost neatly bisected by the two Shiva warheads and volleys of Archers. As Captain Paul Robinson of the _Bunker Hill_ watched, the belemoth began falling toward's Aidenn, it's crippled engines flaring as they tried to resist the planet's pull. The massive ship's initially-out of control fall slowed, then turned into a much more leisurely descent. The cruiser would probably make it down safely, but it was out of the orbital battle for the time being. The command ship was the ground-pounders problem now. Flashes of light and the sudden squeal of sirens distracted Robinson from the ship's fall, and the Ensign at the sensor station began to address him.

"Sir, the frigates are pulling back!"

As Robinson watched, the two bulbous vessels turned with surprising grace for warships of their tonnage, their engines glowing a bright white as they were pushed to their limits. Then, the vessels rears seemed to flicker, and they were gone.

For almost a minute, there was a stunned silence on the bridge. Then, fatigue seemed to finally set in. Instead of the jubilant celebration that would have been expected, there was only a weary determination. The Covvies may have fled, but they never did so without a good reason, and would certainly be back. For now, there was still the problem of the cruiser, and the thousands of troops it was unloading into the factory cities it had landed near. Even without resorting to the _Bunker Hill_'s sensors, Robinson could see flashes of light around the twin-circle outline of the landed Covenant cruiser.

_This isn't over yet..._


End file.
